A Heartfelt Thank You From Camp Ernst

Strauss Troy MAD Team Members Donna Chamberlain And Tina Roberts With ICYO Campers

We did it!

We partnered together to provide great kids with a week that will become a lifetime of memories.

Thank you for giving to your community through YMCA Camp Ernst.

We are so proud to partner with you. I know the campers benefit greatly from being here, and I hope that you can share with your team how much I feel blessed each day they are here.

I get a glimpse of them here and there and hear stories from the staff. There is laughter, there are friendships, there are plates of food that on Monday are piled high at each meal and then by Wednesday or Thursday, not so much, as they understand that there is always enough food to go around and always another snack or meal before they even feel hunger again.

We are so blessed to see your gift at work every day with these children. Please express my appreciation to your staff for the great gift to the children, and I hope you can share the enthusiasm I feel for being part of something so much bigger than “just a week at camp.” I really didn’t “get it” myself until I worked here, but a week at camp does have the potential to change lives.

The kids can’t thank you, but I will. Thank you for being part of something so much bigger than what we see here. I think the impact continues on long after they leave Camp Ernst. I look forward to next year and hope that Strauss Troy will as well.

Thanks again,

Barb

Barb Rathbun
Office Manager
YMCA Camp Ernst

About Strauss Troy’s Make A Difference (MAD) Team

Nearly 20 years ago, a group of Strauss Troy employees got together and formed the “Make a Difference” team. The team represents Strauss Troy’s belief that we should reach out to the community and make a difference in any way that we can. They rally to support the troops, the arts, less privileged families during the holidays and a variety of other causes – to make a difference.

Strauss Troy has sponsored children from Cincinnati’s Inner City Youth Opportunities (ICYO) to attend summer camp at YMCA Camp Ernst in Burlington, KY for more than a decade. This year, the firm’s MAD Team helped eight children escape the violence of the inner city to enjoy a week of fun and nature and make friends with other campers from all areas of Ohio and Kentucky. The children participate in traditional camp activities including kayaking, horseback riding, fishing, crafts and sports, but they also have the opportunity to try new and exciting adventures like the water trampoline, zip line, Burma bridge and aquacycles.

“This program really makes a difference in the lives of these children,” said Marsha Weaver Butler, founder of Strauss Troy’s MAD Team. “One of our campers has gone onto college, but he continues to work as a counselor at Camp Ernst in the summer to give back and inspire kids just like him.”